The Fourth Annual Saratoga 5k

The forth annual Saratoga 5k Fun Run was this past Saturday and it lived up to it's hills just like it has every other year. The race was well attended and much like it was two years ago when there was almost 50 runners. One of the differences than previous years was the larger number of fairly decent runners that made it out to race this year, which knocked me down a little bit in place.

I didn't get the time I was shooting for. I was hoping to get down in the 23's (hard for me for this course) and was even hoping maybe a new PR. My current PR is 23:23 and was attained at this race two years ago. I have since that time broken my collar bone, taken some time off for healing, ran a marathon, and put on a few post marathon pounds..... the last of which is probably the biggest reason why I was going to struggle trying to set a new PR.
I went out a bit fast considering I knew the course and ran the first mile in the low/mid 7's. The entire course is hills, with one of the bigger ones in that first mile, but nothing compared to the second mile and very first of the third mile. I always seem to struggle most in the second mile of this race and this running of it was no different. My second mile was in the mid 8's and was really hard to keep going. I even (as much as I hate even thinking about it) walked a few steps up a couple hills during that second mile. I was able to pick the pace back up during the last mile, but not where I wanted to be with the pace of close to 7:40 for the last mile.

Overall I was pleased with the race. I really didn't know what to expect since it was my first 5k in around 10 months due to marathon training. I am happy with the time of 24:15 that I crossed the finish line in. Most everyone I talk to at that race feels that in most cases you could drop a full minute off your time at that race when running a more normal course. We will see at the next 5k. I would love to drop down into the high 22's...... but we will see!

There is so much to be said about this race and the 4 times that I have run it, but I will refrain from making this post too long and point you in the direction of the previous posts by searching my blog or clicking here.

You can view my splits from this race at my running log. Keep in mind that these are somewhat off a little bit because my watch didn't measure the miles splits the same as what the course was laid out.